In response to the many
requests, we organised a repeat of last year's charity day at
Sandringham and the 8th October saw a fine collection of Rovers,
Mercedes, Porsches and MG lined up on the Vista by kind permission of
the estate management. Star of the show was Norfolk's oldest still
running car, a 1899 Panhard LeVassor once owned by Charles Rolls
and now at the Gressenhall Rural Life Museum. Our chosen charity was
again the East Anglian Air Ambulance and we were please to raise over
£1200 in donations from those who brought
their cars along for the day. Prizes of a specially engraved
glass were awarded to the best in each class.

***

The Grand Henham Steam
Rally has become a regular on our event calendar and a group of members
made the trip down to Henham
Park on 17th September for our
annual pilgrimage. There had been much rain in the week leading up to
the event, leaving the field quite wet and the estate roads quite
muddy, but it was fine on the day and we all had a good time exploring all the trade
stalls and looking at all the cars & other exhibits. The only downside was
having to hose down the undersides of our cars when we returned home.

***

The 3rd September saw us join up with
the NCVC for a very enjoyable lunch at Alby Crafts followed by a visit
to the nearby Gunton Sawmill. This is a traditional water powered
mill, on the Gunton estate, dating from the 19th century, that has been
restored by a group of very knowledgeable volunteers and retains all of
the original machinery. It is still used today to provide cut
timber for the estate.

***

The annual ladies day out this year was
a mystery trip around Norfolk on Eastons classic 1958 Bedford SB Duple Vaga coach. First port of call
after an enjoyable ride through a number of attractive villages was
Langham Glass where a demonstration of glass making was laid on and
then lunch. In the afternoon a ride through a number of other
villages took the party to Sheringham for tea & cakes in the
station buffet before a pleasant ride home. Another enjoyable day
out thanks to Eastons and their brilliant driver Colin.

***

11 intrepid members from our club made
the long(ish) trek to Roverfest in Warwick shire on 13 August to join
some 800+ other Rovers in celebrating the marque and the 50th
anniversary of the V8 engine. The weekend included a trip to
Gaydon on the Saturday where there was also a driving test event.
Drivers had to guess the height and width of their cars and complete a
mini course. Best of all, and the highlight of the show for us,
was our member Graham Teeson's P2 20 Sports Saloon being chosen as
the best Rover of the whole Show. A real feather in the cap for
both Graham and our club.

***

The P6 National this year was held on
6th August at the splendid Castle Howard in Yorkshire. A handful of our
more adventurous members made the 450 mile round trip from Norfolk to
the event and had a really good weekend away. All in all there were
around 70 cars on display with at least 60 being P6's and a few modern
and non rovers. There was a good selection of 2000, 2200 and 3500
and a very interesting Estate. As usual winners were chosen by those
attending and remarkably the furthest travelled was a Lotus Europa from
Sweden.

***

Having Sunday lunches out has become an
enjoyable if not quite regular past time for a small group of members
and our latest, on 26 July, was at Hermanus in a cosy restaurant
overlooking the sea. Following an excellent roast we then went on
to have afternoon tea at Roger & Pam Keeley's lovely house at
Winterton, and to look at Roger's 'O' garden railway. What better
way to spend a relaxing Sunday and Roger & Pam made us feel very
welcome.

***

16th July saw a number of our members
make the annual trip to Hoverton, next to Wroxham on the Broads.
This is quite a large event, held for charity, and there where
again several hundred cars present.

***

The Weeting show over the weekend of the
14th to 16th July was bigger than ever with not only classics cars but
many commercial and services vehicles on show, in addition to steam and
agricultural vehicles. There were trade and craft stall a plenty
in addition to the many arena events and rides. One of the
attractions is the many 'working' steam activities each day which
included sawing, threshing, lifting, ploughing, etc in addition to
working standard and narrow gauge steam railways. As usual, we took our
turns in the arena to talk about our cars and had a really good day.

***

We were invited by the Suffolk Vehicle Enthusiasts Club to join them at Martlesham Heath
on 9th July to celebrate the 100 year history of the
former air base. However, the cars were not the
main attraction as there were plenty of activities in the main arena,
including the Ipswich Piping Society, Dog Agility Team, the Brentwood
Imperial Youth Band and a very impressive Red Devils Parachute Team
display. On the stage there was 100 years of music and dancing all day.
The highlight of the day was the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight
Flypast by a Spitfire and Hurricane, a wonderful sight and sound.

***

Few of us had attended the Mid Lincs all
Rover rally at East Kirkby since its move to Saturday (always other
things to do) but the event on 8th July this year was going to be the
last one, at least in
its present form, so we just had to go along; 14 club cars in all. The
show was as good as ever with over 240 cars, a flypast by 2 Spitfires
and of course the fast taxi runs by the Lancaster 'Just Jane'. The sun shone all day and to cap it all our members won
best P4 and best P5.

***

The Maldon car show on 2nd July is
organised by Chelmer Valley Events and is an extremely large show with
at least 1500 classic cars as well as buses and military vehicles.
There was the usual auto jumble, trade stalls, live music all day and
dancing. The setting was along the Promenade with cars parked alongside
the River Blackwater Estuary as well as around the Park. There was
plenty to see and do all day, including screenings in the Vintage
Mobile Camera, as seen on TV. A 180 mile round trip but well worth the early start.

***

2nd July and a glorious day at the North
Norfolk Railway. Over 400 cars in all, which included 12 club
cars, in addition to a selection of commercial vehicles and 15
classic buses which were giving rides all day. On the railway
there were 2 steam trains one 'Peak' diesel hauled train and the DMU
shuttling between Holt and Sheringham, in parallel with the buses.
In addition, in Holt station yard, the miniature railway was
operating and the narrow gauge loco 'Alice' from the Bala Steam
Railway of Wales was doing demonstration runs. A very full and
enjoyable day.

***

As our National Trust visit this year we
had decided to revisit Fellbrigg Hall up in North Norfolk. This
is a compact but interesting house with parkland, a very attractive and
well laid out walled garden, and a pleasant walk down to the church. We
had 6 cars on display, rather less than expected, in a key position on
the lawn by the restaurant and many of the visitor came to take a look.

***

On the same day, 25th June, a few
members took part in the Sporting Car Club of Norfolk's 80 mile road
run from Dereham through the Norfolk countryside ending up at the East
Anglia Transport Museum at Carlton Colville. A cooler day than of
late which meant more comfortable & pleasant motoring.

***

Gressenhall on 18th June was another
first for the club and we had invited the NCVC to join us. This
was part of the venues 'Big Boys Toys' day and it was interesting
exploring the museum but it was one of the hotes day of the year, which
undersatandably kept many people away and we spent much of the day
simple sheltering under the shade of the trees.

***

Sunday June 11th and another great day
out for a group of club members. The morning was taken up with a
road run out to the coast at Walcott where we had a very enjoyable
lunch at the Lighthouse Inn. Really good food and even their
small portions are huge, delicious deserts as well. We then went
on to East Ruston Vicarage Gardens, which was another great treat with
so much to see that another visit is a must. We must have walked
miles around all the paths with new surprises at every turn. By the end
of the afternoon our tired limbs told it was time to sit down for tea
and cakes before leaving for home - well we never need much of an
excuse!

***

We were invited along to the NCVC fun
day at Strumpshaw on 4th June to put on our century of Rover cars
display. In addition to the display line a number of other club
cars came along making 17 in total. This is a very large show
with many hundreds of cars but the icing on the cake for us was winning
the best club stand trophy. The entertainment included a guitar
duo playing Shadows and other numbers, and a an excellent Frankie Valli
tribute group, Frankies Guys, who put on a really professional show for
us.

***

This year was our 40th All Rover Rally at Bressingham and we certainly
celebrated the occasion in style. Go back to our home page to read
all about it and look at the pictures & video.

***

The Skeyton Goat show is a favourite with our club an a
number of members went along on 21 May to join in the festivities.
This event attracts a number of unusual vehicles each year and
one that caught our eye was a Wartberg coupe but there were also steam
cars, American autos and bikes. In addition to the car boot
stalls, food and drink is one of the features of this show but

***

The Stradsett vintage show was on 29th
April this year and several members went along to enjoy the day.
In addition to the many trade stalls there was a good display of cars, trucks, heavy horses, agricultural and
steam exhibits, and we all took our turn it the arena to talk about our
vehicles. This is now quite a large show and we were please to be able
to put our feet up in the afternoon and rest a while in the sunshine.

***

Drive it Day, 23 April. Some 20 members enjoyed a
leisurely 50 mile road run around rural Norfolk, arriving at Carlton
Colville Transport museum in good time for lunch. This is a working
museum with preserved buses, trolleybuses, trams etc. and is laid out
as a street scene. We were very kindly allowed to park our classics
within the grounds, alongside the museums own exhibits and in addition
to taking ride on many of the vehicles, many of our members took the
opportunity to also browse the excellent bookshop and of course indulge
in tea and cakes before leaving for home.

***

NEC restoration show was extended to 3
days this year, from 31 March to 2 April. It gets better every year
with a fantastic amount to see & do and we all had a really good
time. We received many positive comments about our stand, which was as
good if not better than mos, showing the Hearse and an 827
Stirling. As well as giving members the opportunity to show off
their cars, the show gets us recognised, gives us good publicity
through writ-ups and an is opportunity both to network and to pick up
some good bargains.

***

The 14th March saw a number of members
take a coach trip to the Brooklands museum near Weybridge.
This was the base for Vickers Aviation and many of their historic
aircraft are on display. Prior the that it was a major motor
racing circuit and the history of that period is very well told with
part of the old circuit banking still to be seen in addition to many of
the racing and other cars of that period. Almost too much to see
in a day.

***

2016There was a change of
venue for this year's Christmas meal on 11th December. We
returned to the historic Lynford Hall where we celebrated the club's
40th anniversary back in 2015. This is a hidden gem nesting in
Thetford Forest on the boarders of Norfolk and Suffolk. Some 40 plus members came
along and we were served an excellent 3
course meal by the very efficient staff who made us feel very
welcome. Needless to say we all had a very enjoyable time.

***

We had a good attendance
for the club AGM on 29th November. The Chairman reported
that the club remained in a
very healthy position with more than adequate reserves, increasing membership
and a
very busy event diary. Committee members and the Bressingham
team
were thanked for
their hard work
throughout the year. The Chairman also welcomed all new
members
and thanked those members who had supported the club by
attending
the various events and meetings throughout the year. In
accordance with the constitution, the Club Secretary and
Treasurer/Membership Secretary both
retired on rotation and were re-elected unopposed for a further 3
years. The AGM was followed by an interesting talk on the
Antarctic by club member Stephen Parker.

***

The Mid Norfolk Railway
held a heritage transport day on 18th October and despite being late in
the season we were pleased to support this with a dozen club cars.
After collecting our complementary tickets we took a ride on the
DMU from Dereham to Wymondham, where some of our group took a stroll up
to the Abby and town before returning on a later train.
Refreshments were taken in the station buffet where hot food was
also on offer.

***

9th October Sandringham
charity day. We were parked along the
vista rather than the, more remote, event field which made us the
centre of attraction. The theme was prestige
and sporting cars from the past and we were joined by members of the
Porsche, Mercedes and 3 MG clubs plus a number of special entries.
Despite heavy showers we had 89 cars turn up and raised £1248 for
the Air Ambulance, 25% above target, thanks to the generosity of all
who brought their cars along for the day. Prizes of an engraved
glass were awarded to the best in each class.

***

17th/18th September and
The Grand Henham Steam Rally was back to its original home of Henham
Park this year, after a move to Ipswich last year. This is always
a large event with much to see and do but the weather was poor on the
Saturday (again) however a number of members took their classics down
on the Sunday and had a very enjoyable day exploring all the trade
stalls and looking at all the cars & other exhibits, which included
working steam demonstrations.

***

Over the weekend of
10th/11th September a few members made the
pilgrimage to Goodwood for the annual Revival event. Unfortunately the
weather was poor on the Saturday with everyone getting a real soaking
bur Sunday proved much better with all enjoying the racing and static
displays.

***

On 4th September we
organised our own run through the Norfolk countryside with a stop for
refreshments at Fairhaven Watergardens and lunch at Caister Castle.
We were joined on the run by the Norfolk Classic Vehicle Club and
after lunch we all had look around the motor museum at the Castle,
which had recently been extended. The weather was kind to us and we all
had a really enjoyable day.

***

The P6 national this year
was held at Rockingham Castle on 21 August and we had a really good
day. There were nearly 70 P6s plus about a dozen other Rovers,
moderns and non rovers. This is a privately owned residence,
dating back many centuries, and is built on the hill side overlooking
the village and with splendid views across the Rutland
countryside. The weather was good and
as a bonus one of our members won the trophy for best P6 2000.

***

Stonham Barns has become
another
regular with the club but was held this year on the same day as the P6
national. Attendance was therefore down somewhat on previous years but
we still had 7 cars there and showed our presence well. In
addition to the retail outlets there are always a good number of
autojumble and other stalls and we all had a good day.

***

Open churches run was held
on 6 August with over 100 cars taking part. Starting from Norwich
Cathedral the first stop at St Margaret's Church, Stratton Strawless,
then on to St Andrew's church at Felmingham, where a Flower Festival
was being held. Next stop was at St Botolph, Banningham, then on
towards Erpingham and St Mary's church, which has one of Norfolk's most
famous brasses, Sir John de Erpingham. Stops were also made at St
Mary's church Aldborough and All Saints Gresham before a well deserved
rest at All Saints church, Upper Sheringham. The finish this year
was at Beeston Regis with a stop at St Mary's Priory as well as All
Saint's church.

***

Our last club meeting on
30th August was a 'bring your classic' evening, together with the local
MG club who also meet at Caistor Hall. This was another first and
was a great success with 23 Rovers and as many MGs lined up in front of
the hotel. Prizes were give for the best Rovers & MGs, courtesy of
the MG club, as voted for by all those attending. These types of
events are very weather dependent and we were very lucky to have a
sunny summer evening. Something to definitely be repeated.

***

With the East Kirkby event
being moved to Saturday (not a good day for our members) we tried the
Boston car Club event which this year was on 14th August. This
has been running for 25 years and has become a really big show
with well over 400 cars attending, including a number not seen before.
These included a Renault Dauphine and the iconic Renault 16, which
broke new ground for styling in its day. Just for fun there was
also a double fronted Morris Minor (push me pull you
instantly came to mind)

***

The Club put on a good
display of cars at the Norfolk & Suffolk Aviation Museum at Flixton
on Sunday 22 July, along with our friends from the Suffolk Vehicle
Enthusiasts Club. A great day, fantastic weather, plus a flypast
by a Spitfire, Hurricane and Boeing Stearman, what more could you
want. This has become a regular venue for a club visit and as
usual we were parked up between the static aircraft on display.
Despite having been there a number of times there are still new things
to find in the extensive displays within the main hanger and there
always seems to be dancing or a band to keep us entertained.

***

Every year a number of
club members attend the Weeting country fare as guests of the Brandon
Car club and this year was no exception. It has been taking place
every year for the last 24 years and has become one of the largest
shows around with all manner of historic road vehicles, trade stalls,
fun fair, working steam and much much more. The weather was good
and we all had a splendid day looking around, taking the cars around
both arenas and just sitting in the sunshine.

***

Interests vary and with 85
members now, groups of members can attend different shows on the same
day, as on 3 July. We had 14 cars at the ever popular North Norfolk
Railway Heritage Transport Day, with everyone enjoying vintage bus
& train rides, looking at the 400+ classic cars & trucks and
just sitting in the sunshine. There were tea & cakes in the
'cottage' a hot food bar, a beer tent and a 60's band. What more
could you want.

***

Five members attended the
Charity Family Fun Day on 3rd July at Wymondham Rugby
Club with all proceeds to the East Anglia's Children's Hospices
Nook Appeal. Around 30 cherished cars were on display, including
Bentley's, Roll Royce and Mercedes, many that are not usually seen at
regular car shows. To add to the display there was two very splendid
traction engines. There was plenty to keep you occupied, with the usual
traditional village fair stalls, food and drink, the hog roast was
fantastic.

***

A Some
26 members and
friends returned to Horning on 26th June to spend a lovely summer
evening on board the Mississippi style
trip boat 'Southern Comfort'. This was one of the very
popular jazz boat trips that are put on each year and we all
spent
a very pleasant 3
hours with
good company,
lovely river views and the 6 piece traditional jazz band to keep us
entertained -
what more could you want.
This was the third year we had joined the boat and I'm sure we
will do so again in
the near future.

***

A couple of members joined
over 100 others on 19th June to take part in the annual SCCON Classic
Car Run. This was 76 miles via quiet roads in Norfolk and
Suffolk, past Reymerston Hall and on through the pretty village of
Debenham with a number of timber framed buildings, and many others. The
finish point was just south of Bury St Edmunds at the Cars on the Green
and Bury Motor Show at Nowton, a very large event with around 1000 cars.

***

There has been a country
fayer held at Swanton Morley for quite a few years and several of us
attended this year's event on 19th June. There was a good
selection of classic cars (around
100), tractors, horticultural equipment and a few steamers. The
obligatory trade stalls included autojumble, models, bric-a-brac and
plants. The bar was open in the excellent village hall and there were
half a dozen traders selling refreshments and hot food, what more could
you want. The weather was good, we took a turn around the ring
& talked about our cars and in the afternoon we sat and listened
the the Dereham Brass Band. An good day.

***

A One of our brave members
had just completed a 1,733 mile trip to the Isle of Harris & Lewis
in the Outer Hebrides, via Loch Lomond, Oban and
Barrahaving and catching the
ferry from North Uist. They also visited
Ullapool, the Orkneys and Shetland Isles, attending the Shetland
Classic Car show in Lerwick on the 5th June. A photograph shows their
car at the Butt of Lewis lighthouse, the most northerly point in the
Hebrides.

***

A nice selection of club
cars joined the NCVC rally at Strumpshaw on 12 June. This has grown to
a very large show with many hundreds of cars to view. Apart from
a brief heavy shower at lunch time it was warm and fine allowing us to
sit by the cars and enjoy each others company. There were a
selection of trade stalls including the essential autojumble ones and
of course the museum with its steam based exhibits & Christi Organ

***

SD1 national4/5th June.
The first stop on the Saturday road run was at Severn View Services
from where the convoy continued over the Severn Bridge, towards
Chepstow, Tintern Abbey and the second stop at Monmouth. The route back
was via the M50 and the M5, but some took a more scenic drive via
Ledbury and the Malvern Hills.

Sunday was the 'National' Day with 75 SD1's on display at Chateau
Impney Hotel, Droitwich Spa. In addition to showroom condition
cars and daily runners, there were race car
replicas and FIA approved race cars. Members had travelled from as far
afield as Norway, Holland and France. Peter & Janet Cane, Kev Clark
and Chris Parmenter were there flying the flag for the Norfolk
& Norwich Rover Owners Club, Chris picking up third prize in the
Vitesse category.

***

Our
annual
Bressingham show on May 29th and was again a great success with cars
coming from far and
wide. We were blessed with warm sunshine all day and everyone had
a really good time looking at all the cars, chatting with owners and
taking advantage of all that Bressingham has to offer. The full report
on the day, and list of winners can be accessed from our Home page.

***

15May. The annual rally at Skeyton
Goat has become a regular with the club and over the years has become a
very large event. In addition to a wide range of cars there are
also many autojumble and other stalls to browse. There is also
live music, for those who enjoy that sort of thing, and a barbecue.
The weather was rather cool at times but after looking at all the
cars and stalls, we spent an enjoyable afternoon sitting by the cars,
chatting.

***

Drive it Day this year was on Sunday
24th April and we took a ride through the Norfolk
villages this time, stopping at the Lighthouse Inn at Walcott for an
excellent roast lunch. In the afternoon we continued our ride
up the coast and across the dear park for afternoon tea at Alby Crafts
where we had a room booked and were really well looked after. We
finished the day with a look around all the fascinating craft workshops
before making the journey back home. Weatherwise we had rain, snow,
hail, (and some sunshine) but nothing stops the N&NROC.

***

17th April was the first proper trip out for the club. We made the long
trip down to the Bentwaters airfield in Suffolk where they now have quite an
interesting museum in the old control room. It was fascinating seeing
details all the different aircraft that were stationed there over the
years and also seeing how the logistics of getting squadrons into the
air worked, not just at Bentwaters but at all the NATO bases during the
cold war. It was also an enjoyable ride down through all the
Suffolk villages. Probably a one off though.

***

Thanks to a tremendous team effort we
pulled it off, the Norfolk and Norwich Rover Owners Club at the NEC
Restoration Show on 5th & 6th March - another first for the club.
We presented our club well, attracted a great deal of attention (&
positive comments in the visitors book) and, above all, enjoyed
ourselves. As a bonus, we gained 2 new members (probably more) and sold
some of our regalia - what more could you want. Being recognised in the same circles as
the national clubs has to be good and we were able to build on our
relationship with the other Rover Clubs who were in the same area as
us, making a Rover hub, excuse the pun.

***

2015A record number of
members and guests enjoyed our annual club Christmas party at the
Oaklands Hotel on 13th December, brining our anniversary year to a
fitting close. Each year this event get bigger and bigger,
and this year we filled the function room to
capacity. We were served an excellent 3
course meal by the very efficient hotel staff who made us feel very
welcome. Needless to say we all had a very enjoyable time and we will
no doubt be returning to the Oaklands for our Christmas 'bash' next
year.

***

To close the event
season, 14 club cars made a joint visit with NCVC to the Mid Norfolk
Railway on 18 October. It was a rather cool day but we enjoyed a
pleasant ride in a warm train with good company to Wymondham, back to
Hoe and return to Dereham. This was followed by a good lunch in the
buffet but there were not too many other visitors, probably due to it
being arranged at short notice. We will do it again next year but
the railway will advertise it well in advance.

***

.On
Sunday 4th
October, together with members of the SD1 club, 12 members made a
repeat visit to the Forncett Steam Museum
where all the various stationary engines were in steam. These
range from early beam engines to 1 and 2 cylinder horizontals and an
enormous 80 ton 3 cylinder vertical engine, mainly used for pumping in
their day. The local model engineering society were also
there
putting on a display of many hand built miniature engines, boats etc.
whilst scale traction engines were taking people for rides outside.
At lunch time we enjoyed their specialty of hot pork rolls
and
then sat in the sunshine on the back lawn by our cars for the usual
chinwag.

***

A
number of events
were put on on 20 September to commemorate the 75th anniversary of
the Battle of Britain and we decided to go along to the Norfolk and
Suffolk Aviation Museum open day at Flixton, near Bungay, in Suffolk.
We put
on a fine display of Rovers, from a 1948 P3 through to a 1985 SD1,
alongside the examples of fighter aircraft from the early years of
winged
flight up to the cold war Lightning and later Harrier jump jet.
Following an excellent carvery lunch in the adjacent Buck Inn
we
enjoyed a flypast by a BBMF Dakota and also a P51 Mustang. We
then settled down to listen to the local 'Super Swing Big Band' who
entertained us with music
from the 1940s,
including many Glenn Miller favourites, which made a fitting end to the
day.

***

Nine
members joined
the Classic Car Day at Tuesday Market Place as part of the Heritage
Open Day in King's Lynn on
Sunday 13th
September.
The public car
park was full of classic cars, 230 had booked in for this special
display. The weather held for the day, giving plenty of time to visit
some of the towns hidden gems, which are not usually open to the
public. The highlight being the tour of the Air Raid Shelters recently
discovered under the market place. Lynn was a very prosperous
port in the day and many of the splendid historic buildings date from
that time.

***

A
group of intrepid
members took the long trip down from Norfolk to the Rover day at the
Buckinghamshire Railway Center, Quainton, on 30th August. We
made
a long weekend of it by travelling down on the Saturday so that we
could have our cars on display in good time on the Sunday morning.
This is a large event and we all enjoyed looking at the many
cars, searching through the autojumble and exploring the extensive
railway museum and exhibits. Unfortunately no trains were
running
and it did rain in the afternoon but there was ample cover and we all
had an excellent day. We all arrived home happy but rather
tired.

***

Another
first for
the club was Caister Castle and car museum on 23rd August.
Again
we had a good turnout with 10 cars parked 'centre stage' in the car
park. After viewing all the exhibits in the museum (200+, and
some not seen elsewhere) we had a picnic lunch in the Castle keep and
then the brave amongst us climbed the 115 steps to the top of the tower
for more photos and to enjoy the splendid views. The forecast
had
been for rain but we timed it well and arrived home just in time to
avoid the latest downpour.

***

Gluttons
for
punishment, many of us then took the trip south on the following day to
the annual Stonham Barns rally
in Suffolk.
10 classic Rovers in convoy on the A140 was a fantastic sight
and
we certainly turned a few heads along the way. Together with those who
joined us at Stonham, we had a very good turnout (the best for some
time) and I think we put on an excellent display with a good selection
of models from the Rover range. Many people visited our stand
and
as always there was much to see and do so we all had a really good day.
As if that wasn't enough, 2 club cars were invited to take
part
in the parade around the arena to 'fly the Rover flag'.

***

On
Saturday 15th
August
we put on our first
'Public' show using the amphitheatre in front of the ultra
modern
Norwich Forum. This was built to celebrate the Millennium and
is
a splendid glass and stainless steel structure with vast 15m high
curved glass roof and has become an iconic landmark in the
city. It was the perfect location to display models
representing
some 70 years of Rover car production, from a 1935 P2 to a 2005 75 and
various models in between. We were surprised by the level of
interest, with many people having fascinating stories to tell
about Rovers they had owned or that had been in their
families.
Surprisingly we had a few people come up to us who had worked on the
engineering side in the Rover company, Lotus and even DeLorian who
again had interesting stories to tell. We all went
home
quite tired but happy in the thought that we had done our bit to keep
the iconic Rover name alive in the minds of the general public.

***

The
P6 ROC held
their national rally on 9th August this year at the Heritage Motor
Centre & Museum, Gaydon. Five of our club members
undertook
the long trip from Norfolk to join in the fun, several making a weekend
of it by travelling up on the Saturday to visit other places in the
area. We had a really great day on the Sunday with good
weather,
some really good cars and the perfect venue, what more could you want.
In fact we could have spent the whole day in the museum
looking
at the vast range of cars on display. We were all pleased to
see
that Rover is very well represented with many models including a number
of experimental/concept cars on display including the gas
turbine
prototypes.

***

There
was a good
selection of Rover Cars at this year's BMC-BL Rally and spares day at
Ferry Meadows, Peterborough on Sunday 2nd August. These were mostly
from the 80's through to 2005 although there were many BMC cars from
earlier years. It was a super event with loads of vehicles
and
nice to see the Sun out as well.

***

The
Old Buckenham
air show is a favorite with members and on Sunday 2nd August we had a
very enjoyable day, with excellent weather and were able to enjoy the
splendid flying displays, including a Spitfire and Mustang.
There
were plenty of classic cars, monster truck and
military
vehicles
to view, together
with tank rides,
dancing and the
usual trade stalls. Guest of honour was Honor Blackman who
was re
united with the helicopter from the famous Goldfinger
film.

***

The
Norfolk Open
Churches Run was on Saturday 1st August this year. Unlike the
previous week the weather was fine and sunny, allowing us to enjoy the
splendid countryside as we followed the well prepared route book which
took us to some unusual and interesting churches. Some of us
had
lunch at the Waveney Valley River Centre before ending the run at
Ditchingham church where we were able to enjoy the views from the top
of the tower.

***

Our
display at
Norwich Cathedral, as part on our anniversary celebrations was
scheduled for Sunday 26th July. Unfortunately the rain set in
early but 12
cars came along,
despite the conditions, allowing us to take general photos and recreate
the photo taken in the early eighties. We also had a light
lunch
in our own room overlooking the cars and cathedral.

***

Friday
17th to
Sunday 19th July
was the Weeting
country fair
weekend. The weather was good and we had an excellent time
looking at the working steam demonstrations, model engineering displays
and the masses of trade stalls, together with all the cars, tractors,
fire and military vehicles. As usual we took a turn around
the
arena where we had the chance to talk about our cars.

***

The
annual mid lincs
Rover rally was held at East Kirkby on Sunday 12 July and a dozen club
cars made the long journey from Norwich to be there. This is
a
very popular show with several hundred cars, many static aviation
exhibits and, of course, 'Just Jane' the famous Lancaster Bomber.
We know the main attraction of the day, the fast
taxi run,
is due to take place as soon as we hear those four wonderful merlin
engines start up and every thing else goes quiet. There
really is
nothing quite like it.

This year several members went up to Lincolnshire on the Saturday,
calling in at the Bubble car museum between Boston and Coningsby for
lunch and then going on via Coningsby to explore the small,
unspoilt, town of Woodhall Spa. In addition to looking at
the
memorials devoted to the Dam Busters in the town centre we had
afternoon tea at the Petwood Hotel, which was taken over by
the
RAF during the war. This is a wonderful country house with
many
photos, some autographed by the crews, and
it was quite moving standing in the squadron bar where so many famous
names had stood in the past. From here we moved on to the 617
Inn
at the Lancaster Hotel for a very enjoyable evening meal
before
retiring for the night.

***

As
part of the
historic transport day at the North Norfolk Railway, on 5th July, the
club put on a good display including P3s, P4s, P5s & P6s.
This is now one of the biggest classic car shows in
the area
with 410 entrants this year. Together with the trains, buses,
and
display of commercials it is always a full day and this year there was
also a 60s theme with stalls and
a band down by
the miniature
railway plus tea, cakes and entertainment in the railway
education centre. There was a heavy shower around lunch time
but
by mid afternoon this had passed leaving us with a pleasant evening to
end the day.

***

Some
24 members and
friends spent a lovely sunny summer evening on the Mississippi style
trip boat from Horning on 28th June. This was one of the very
popular jazz boat trips that are put on each year and we all
spent
a very pleasant 3
hours with
good company,
lovely river views and the 6 piece jazz band to keep us entertained -
what could be better.
This was the
second year we had joined the boat and I'm sure we will do so again in
the near future.

***

This
year's Sporting
Car Club Mid Summer run on 21st June started as usual from Watton High
Street. The road was closed for the start as 120 plus cars lined up
(only 1 Rover, our club car) in Le Mans style. Unfortunately, just as
the cars
started to leave the heavens opened and it rained heavy for a while.
This did not dampen everyone's spirits as we traveled around the
Norfolk countryside on a very good 80 mile run. The halfway stop was at
Raynham Hall, a private home opened just for the run, with the finish
at Holkham Hall, where the sun came out for the afternoon.

***

The
NCVC rally moved
to Strumpshaw Hall this year
and a number of our
members went along on Sunday 7th June to support the show.
This
is a very large site and there must have been close to 1,000 cars for
us to look at and enjoy. In addition there were a number
of steam pumping engines in operation in the museum
as well
as the static exhibits, and Lizzie Sones was entertaining visitors on
the Christie theatre organ. The high point for us
was taking
our cars into the arena to say a few words about them, and afterwards
we were able to sit in the sunshine by the cars to have our lunch and
to chat.

***

As
if we had not had
our fill of classics at Bressingham, the next day several members went
along to the village
fate on the
Green at
Bradenham.
This is a very popular event locally with some 200 vehicles
including classics, specials, tractors, military and bikes. There were
the usual craft stalls and field games/sports. Tea and cakes
were
available in the village hall and a bar was selling somewhat stronger
drinks in the cricket pavilion. It was a day to relax
after the busy day at Bressingham.

***

Our
annual
Bressingham show on May 24th was part of our 40th anniversary
celebrations and was a great success with cars coming from far and
wide. Our theme this year was ‘Rover Through the
Years’ and to support this we had arranged a special display
showing the key models from some 100 years of car production.
A
further display included Rover cycles & motorcycles and yet
another
the evolution of the P4 over its 15 year production life.
A full
report on the event can be accessed from our home page.

***

The
Skeyton Goat
rally near Aylesham is a very popular event which has increased in size
over recent years, with a wide variety of cars and an increasing number
of stalls. It was held on Sunday 17th May this
year and
despite the rather cool weather we put on a good club display which
attracted much attention.
There
was the usual
bar and entertainment but by mid afternoon, when the temperature had
dropped even more, many cars started to head for home. We
held on
for a while and then followed suit.

***

Several
members
attended the daffodil day rally at Langley School near Loddon on Sunday
10th May. There were about 150 cars present plus bands and
Majorette displays but less trade stalls than in the past. In
addition to sitting in the sunshine chatting we were were able to take
a pleasant walk thought the grounds to the church, returning via
the woodland walk by the lake. We were also treated to an
unplanned fly past by the Red Arrows, which added extra interest to the
day.

***

Monday
4th May saw a
small number of members take the annual trip to the Vintage Rally at
Stradsett Park near Downham Market. This is a much larger
show
than in the past with more room for all the exhibits. There
were
around 200 cars on display together with motorcycles, tractor of all
ages, steam engines and a large number of trade stalls. This
is a
2 day show and the Sunday was a washout with rain for much of the day
but by the Monday the ground had dried out and we enjoyed sunshine all
day, allowing us to take a leisurely walk around the show and chat with
other exhibitors.

***

ThThe
Club celebrated
its 40th anniversary on Sunday 26th April with a Drive-it-Day road run
to the historic Lynford Hall, in Thetford Forest, where they enjoyed a
special lunch followed by a grand prize draw. Guest of Honour
was
Rita Ringwood, wife of one of the club founders, the late John
Ringwood. Rita was accompanied by the other founder member of
the
club Terry Reynolds who, together with his wife Helen, today organise
all the club’s event and outings. After lunch the
50+
members attending were entertained by Guest Speaker, BBC Radio
presenter David Clayton, who gave an entertaining an amusing talk of
his life in broadcasting. Over 20 cars were arranged around
the
inner courtyard putting on a splendid display and an excellent time was
had by all.

***

The
Annual Tractor
show took place at the Norfolk Showground on Sunday 12th April where
the club put on a display. In addition to the range of
fascinating and historic tractors, some dating back to the early 1900s,
there were a good selection of classic cars & trucks, together
with
the usual trade stands. A feature of the show was an exciting
demonstration of the pulling power of some of the tractors, many of
which had been highly tuned for the occasion. Wheelies and
the
occasional blown engine added to the excitement.

***

Two
members of the
club enjoyed a day out to the Festival of Steam at the historic Chatham
Dockyard on Easter Monday. There were many classic car on
display
together with a number of steam wagons, tractors and rollers plus a
small period fun fair. The dockside railway was in
steam
with a number of original saddle tank locos and steam cranes making
demonstration runs. All the usual exhibition halls were open
including the famous rope works, that still makes various types of rope
today, and were putting on demonstrations. Two period ships
and a
submarine were also open for inspection. This may be an event
for
some of the more adventurous members to take their cars to next year.

***

The
new season
kicked of with a very full meeting on 24th February 2015 where many of
the
events for the coming season were discussed. This is the club's 40th
anniversary year and in addition to a special lunch, details were
discussed for special displays at Bressingham on 24th May, Norwich
Cathedral on 26th July and The Forum on 15th August. The membership
secretary reported that renewals were good and that a record of 8 new
members had joined over the winter period.

***

A
record number of
members and guests attended the annual club Christmas party at the
Oaklands Hotel on 14th December. We were served an excellent
3
course meal by the very efficient hotel staff who made us feel very
welcome. Needless to say we all had a enjoyable time and we
will
no doubt be returning to the Oaklands for our Christmas 'bash' next
year.

***

2014
At
the club AGM on
25th November the Chairman was able to report that the club was in a
very healthy position with more than adequate reserves, increasing membership
and a
very busy event diary. Committee members and the Bressingham
team
were thanked for
their hard work
throughout the year. The Chairman also welcomed all new
members
and thanked those members who had supported the club by
attending
the various events and meetings throughout the year. In
accordance with the constitution, the Chair and Deputy Chair both
retired on rotation and were re-elected unopposed for a further 3
years. The AGM was followed by a very enjoyable buffet and
the
chance to chat.

***

With
the last of the
events attended it has become the custom to invite a speaker to our
October meeting. However this year, for a change, we put on a
newsreel video of Norwich in the 1950s. This brought back
many
memories of cars, buildings and events of the time, most striking of
course was the lack of traffic compared with today.

***

Last
show of the
year for the club this year was at Pensthorpe wildlife centre near
Fakenham on 4th October. There were several hundred vehicles
present together with the usual stalls and, as usual, the club put on a
good display. Despite being late in the season the weather
was
good allowing us to picknick by the cars and then take a leisurely walk
around the reserve in the warm sunshine. A bonus of this
event is
that all those brining their cars have free entry to the reserve and
can stay for the weekend if they wish.

***

The
annual Henham
steam and
country show took place on 21st September and was attended by a small
group of members, The show was as good as ever with many
cars,
commercial, agricultural and steam vehicles on display. As it
was
an Anniversary show this year, all attendees received a steam engine
model as a memento, which was a nice touch.

***

On
the weekend of
13th/14th September 2 members took the long trip to Goodwood for the
annum revival show put on by Lord March. Historic racing for the men,
and shops and a market for the ladies. We all dressed in period costume
and absorbed the awesome atmosphere. Both Lancasters, together with 2
Spitfires, a Hurricane, Mustang, ME109, Canberra and 2 Hunters put on
amazing displays over the race track and to cap it all, the starting
grid for the Sunday TT Memorial race was worth some £220m.

***

ThThe
King's Lynn
Classic Car Day, a new event in its first year, was held on Sunday 14th
September
and a group of club
members went along to support the event. The rally was organised to
coincide with Heritage Open Day giving added interest to both
those of us bringing their cars and those coming to look at the
historic buildings. The historic bus rides were an added
bonus
helping to give a nice period feel to the day. The town has a
fascinating historic quarter, with many fine buildings, and we all took
the opportunity to explore the many buildings that are not normally
open to the public.

***

6
Club members took
their various Rovers to Duxford airfield & aviation museum on
7th
September to join the P5 club for their annual rally.
The weather
was good and although it was not an official flying day we did see many
historic aircraft taking to the sky. The most impressive was probably a
Spitfire that gave an impromptu display with some very low, fast passes
over the airfield. Three of our club members won awards for their cars,
John Wallett actually picking up two for his P5b & two P4s
picking
up the others, and to cap it all we recruited our 60th member.
Certainly a day to remember.

***

The
P6 National was
held at Rufford Abbey Country Park this year and 3 cars undertook the
long journey on 31 August to join in the festivities. It was
a
fantastic day, the weather was good, the venue was wonderful with the
P6 entries parked up in front of the Abbey ruins. The
organisers
reported that over 80 P6s turned up and a total of 160 cars were booked
in all together. Plenty to do, with walks around the Abbey ruins,
gardens, woods and lake and even a Brass Band to listen to.
As a
bonus, one of our members picked up an award for his recently purchased
seris 1, 2000.

***

Lt.
Gransden Rally
and Air Show on Sunday 24th August was a first for the club.
The
entertainment included both the BBMF and Canadian Lancasters flying in
formation plus the last flying Vulcan V bomber. These,
together
with some unbelievable aerobatic displays by Pitts Specials and many
others including, would you believe, a glider. It all made
for a
fantastic day. Then there were the cars, which
included some superb club displays from Rolls to Triumphs &
MGs,
together with many individual entries.

***

Sunday
17th August
was the date for this year's show at Stonham Barns in Suffolk.
7 Club cars
joined the 700 or so others booked in for the day to put on a very good
display. There were the usual trade stalls, a car boot sale
in an
adjoining field, plus the retail outlets and restaurant. For
those of the right age there was demonstration
dancing to a
rock & roll
band in the bar marquee, which drew quite a crowd.

***

15
Club members
joined the Waveney Valley & District Preservation
Society at
the Norfolk & Suffolk Aviation Museum,
Flixton,
on Sunday 3 August
and were joined by a fine collection of Rolls Royces. We were
a
little disappointed to find that the Ken Wallis collection had not been
transferred to the purpose built hall, as planed by the Wing Commander.
However it was a warm & sunny day and we enjoyed
looking
around the extensive collection of other exhibits on show. We
also took the opportunity to have a very enjoyable lunch at the Buck
Inn, which is just in front of the museum.

***

Several
members
joined in the 55 mile Churches run on Saturday 7 August. The
cars
were seen off by the Bishop of Norwich from the cathedral green and
enjoyed tea & cakes at each of the church's visited.

***

Sunday
27 July was
the date for one of the famous Old Buckenham air shows, which are now
amongst the largest in the Norfolk/Suffolk area. Several
members
attended and enjoyed excellent aerial displays by a Spitfite, a P51
Mustang and many others. On the ground we had a good mix of
both
classic cars and military vehicles to look around.

***

As
a change from the
car events, on 20 July, 14 members took a 3 hour Jazz Boat
ride
from Horning on the Norfolk Broads, aboard the paddle steamer, Southern
Comfort. A very pleasant evening was had by all and good use
was
made of the on board bar. This area of the 'Broads'
is quite
attractive with many riverside properties and is very peaceful in the
evenings with just a few other boats cruising the waters. A
very
different type of event for the club and just one of the social events
we are introducing.

***

On
19 July one or
two members joined the Brandon Car Club at Weeting for the annual Steam
and Country Fair. As always there were plenty of trade and
craft
stalls to brows in addition to the car, tractor, Steam and commercial
vehicle displays. Demonstrations of working steam are always a key part
of this show, and this year was no exception. And for once
the
sun shone all day!

***

Another
regular event for the club is the Mid Lincs Rover Rally at East Kirkby,
home to the famous Lancaster, 'Just Jane'. On 13 July, 6
members
made the long trip
from Norfolk and enjoyed the day but again we experienced heavy
showers. However this did not spoil the fun and we were all
delighted
to see the Lancaster doing its legendary taxi runs around the field.
Who can not be thrilled by the sound of those Merlin Engines?
This year, one of our club members won the raffle to ride in
the
Lanc.
and many photos were taken.

***

Some
12 club members
had a very enjoyable day at the North Norfolk Railway,
Historic
Transport Day on 6 July but unfortunately the rains came again and
everyone headed for the trains and other undercover areas.
Attendance
was a little down due to the weather but there were still several
hundred cars to view between the showers.

***

Sunday
29 May
saw 8 members attending the RSR 'National at Ickworth Park near Bury
St. Edmunds.
It was quite an interesting show as there were quite a few early Rovers
on display that are not normally seen in the area.
Unfortunately
it started raining quite heavily soon after we were all parked up and
this is how it stayed for most of the day.

***

New
meeting place
-
From June 2014, monthly club meetings will be held at the Caistor Hall
Hotel, Caistor St. Edmunds, NR14 8QN. At the A47/A140
roundabout
turn east on the signed road exit. Pass over the river, turn
right
at
the crossroads and the Hotel will be seen immediately on the left.
Guests are always welcome so why not
come along and say hello. As previously, meetings start at
8pm
and are held on the last Tuesday of the month.